One Year Later...

One year ago, at least 216,000 lives were swept away when a tsunami swept over Indonesia's Aceh province, under a clear blue sky, before a quiet sea. Friends and relatives of those who died that day returned to the shorelines, commemorating the anniversary of that deadly day.

The tsunami itself crashed ashore in a dozen countries, leaving many coastal communities in wet ruins. Aceh was the closest to the off-shore earthquake that caused the Tsunami, and as such got hit the strongest by the wave. The waves were as high as 33 feet in some areas. The earthquake, with a magnitude reading of 9, was the most powerful earthquake in 40 years to strike off of Sumatra island.

Sri Lanka and Thailand were hit, along with coastal towns from India to east Africa. An alarm was set off at 8:16 am, to mark the moment when the first wave truck. The alarm was sent off via a tsunami warning system, which did not exist last year.

Hundreds upon thousands are gathering in churches, at memorial services, anywhere they can all over the area. Thousands also came out immediately after the Tsunami, giving one of the most generous outpourings of foreign aid ever known. The United Nations estimates that $13 billion was pledge to relief and recovery efforts. 80% of refugees are still living in tents, plywood barracks or in the homes of family and friends.

December 26, 2004, remembered today.